El Proyecto oficial

This section considers the contexts and activities that lead educators to engage in social network spaces for learning purposes.

6.1.1. Educators’ contexts and motivations.

Across the studies, contexts for engagement in social network sites were varied. Educators looked for affirmation of practice, advice on experiences within the classroom, new resources, and mentorship. It was evident that social network sites offered a way for, often geographically- separated, people to connect with and learn from others who were

previously inaccessible. While several tertiary-focused studies embedded social network sites in a compulsory learning activity, others reflected voluntary engagement from the teaching sector. Whatever the reason for belonging to a social network site, motivation was a strong indicator of engagement, and the motivation was often directed towards the creation of items or learning of personal worth (Minocha, 2009a). As a result of this personal drive, the members of the social network sites in the studies were seen as very much in control of their learning and participation. They possessed, or were encouraged to possess, a willingness to self-direct.

Certainly, the management of information flow required a discipline and clear-sighted focus on learning purpose. The self-directed nature of the learning requires a particular set of personal competencies and dispositions, both towards learning itself and towards the management of the tool and the digital literacies therein. Not everyone has the skills or personal

competencies for self-regulated learning, be it in a digital environment, or otherwise. Members of social networking sites may already have had a pre-

disposition toward self-managed learning, particularly using technology, with network members more likely to be more civic-minded, and willing to participate and contribute (Ala-Mutka, 2009; Bartlett-Bragg, 2009; Forte, Humphreys, & Park, 2012; Grosseck & Holotescu, 2011; Gunawardena et al., 2009; Whitehouse, Breit, McCloskey & Ketehut, 2006).

We know that having clear goals aligned to student learning is important for effective learning to occur (Timperley et al., 2007). The social network sites offered individuals an opportunity to use the space in ways that suited those needs and goals, with others doing the same. Members saw their own personalised version of the social network site. The privileging of the individual voice saw a shift in the locus of control, from ‘expert-driven’ learning modes to a more collaborative, participatory model. It is worth noting that such spaces assumed that those who engaged wanted to share ideas, network with each other, be open in the sharing of their thinking, and be able to manage their own learning and information flow. There is a challenge in determining impact on teacher professional development for teachers who, to use a rather pejorative term, lurk, but it would be a mistake to suggest that this is non-learning. Studies argued that participation through reading but not commenting was still legitimate for those individuals, if not necessarily for community building (Arnold & Paulus, 2010; Wenger & Lave, 1991). In the TappedIn example, where the social network site became self-sustaining, many members, over time, were seen to move from the periphery to the heart of the network (Dwyer et al., 2009). However, what is of interest to this study is the content and nature of activities in the VLN Groups. It is worth noting that effective professional learning appears to require active engagement in practice-based discourse and so there may

be a limit to the impact that reading alone can make to teachers’ practice and theories in use. The behaviour of ‘lurkers’ lies beyond the scope of this study but would be worthy of further research in the future.

6.1.2 Educators’ activities.

The teacher’s world is a busy one and the profession is far more complex that most non-educators would understand. Even in our

increasingly connected world, life for many education professionals can be confined to the four walls of a classroom or school. However, the need to raise one’s head over the parapet is vital if teachers are to experience the cognitive dissonance needed to reflect on their practice. Across the studies, the value of networking with educators beyond their own environment was considered a vital condition for experiencing divergent thinking and the importance of an external voice was borne out in more general studies on effective professional development (Berry, Byrd, & Norton, 2007; Dwyer et al., 2009; Ministry of Education, 2008; Timperley et al., 2007).

The goals for engagement in the networks were varied across the studies – resource development, advice, affirmation, strategic planning, skill development and so on – but crucially the networks supported this dynamic shifting range, allowing each member to pursue their own goals towards their own outcomes using differentiated pathways (Minocha, 2009a). Dwyer et al. (2009) articulate the key idea at the heart of object exchange and development in social network site: “The fundamental relationship of interest is that one person has produced something of value that is then accessed by another person, as enabled by the socio-technical network" (p. 16). Artefacts of practice, be they experience, knowledge or physical

resources, must be continually developed if the network is to be a purposeful space.

A key ‘hook’ for many teachers in the studies was the exchange of resources which on the surface appears to be low-level and not necessarily supportive of enhancing practice. Certainly, Rutherford (2010) queries whether the fleeting, just-in-time nature of involvement can be sufficiently sustained to support deep learning. Rock & McCollum's study (2009), for example, included a group called ‘Teaching Texts’ which exchanged resources and ideas related to the selection of literary texts for students. They note, though, that the resources and discussions provided a reflection of practice in action and that the majority of discussions related to

collaboration, resource development and pedagogy. Examples of others’ learning, embodied in artefacts shared in the network, act as powerful spotlights on practice for comparison with one’s own approach (Arnold & Paulus, 2010).

Gunawardena et al. (2009) observes the way the resources, or artefacts of practice, were situated with individuals and, at the same time, distributed across the community. The participatory nature of the social network sites allowed members to reap benefit from the resources shared and developed by others in full view of the network. It was, in effect, a shared, public articulation of practice embodied in artefacts that are expressions of that practice.

The development of learning resources or discussions was often part of a cyclical process beyond the context of the social network site. For example, teachers were engaged in personal inquiries such as leading professional development, writing and publishing, reflecting on their own

classroom practice or feeding back to their own school communities, all of which occurred beyond the social network site but all of which were impacted by the engagement within the site (Rock & McCollum, 2009).

In relation to this study, there are several important points that arise from this exploration of these accounts of educators’ motivations and actions. On a positive note, several precursors that are known to be

important for effective professional learning are evident: educators seek to engage in learning, they are motivated by problems of practice, and they work with resources that reflect their prior knowledge and current practice. In addition, they are seeking to work with others, often over an extended period of time.

However, while the value of engaging and networking seem to be positive, such actions do not, of themselves, bring about enhancements in practice. The kinds of conversations that would create a positive challenge to one’s own practice were often not made clear in the studies, but this would be worth further exploration. Rarely did the activities of the

educators critique teachers’ theories-in-use, create dissonance or challenge like-minded network members. The risk here is that networking creates assimilation or affirmation of current practice without question. While it is encouraging to read studies in which educators focus on the curriculum, a problem of practice, or a personal inquiry, informal learning and dialogue are not usually sufficient on their own to unpack theory and its place in practice. There were no studies that spotlighted educators’ engaging in extended, facilitated exploration of their current practice, managing and resolving dissonance in their practice, or of activities being driven by student assessment information.

The following section explores the extent to which studies showed how the social network site itself mediates and affords the process of engagement.